Among Nashville’s Frozen Yogurt Wars, Sweet CeCe’s Proves One Of The Best

By Hyoun Kim, on Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010 @ 4:09PM CST

Since my original review of the newly opened Pinkberry, I’ve heard a lot of comments about it in the world of frozen yogurt reviews. Basically there are two camps of commentators. One says Pinkberry is the best tasting yogurt ever and the other camp states that Sweet CeCe’s blows Pinkberry out of the water. Evidence of both of these opinions is shown on various websites such as Urbanspoon, Yelp, and the like. There really is no “middle of the road” when comparing the fanatics of these two brands. Since my goal of HyoungryMan.com is to provide unbiased reviews, I knew that I would have to make a trip to Sweet CeCe’s to write a comparative review. So this past Saturday, Haley and I made a trip out to Sweet CeCe’s in Franklin, Tennessee.

Sweet CeCe’s is located on the corner of West Main and 5th Avenue in downtown Franklin. Snapping a couple shots of the storefront with my camera, I couldn’t help but notice how the nicely decorated it was. With it being Halloween weekend, Sweet CeCe’s was covered from ceiling to floor with various Halloween decorations. While I haven’t been to any other Sweet CeCe’s locations, the atmosphere at the Franklin location goes beyond those cookie cutter layouts. Behind all the decorations, Sweet CeCe’s has great charm and personality with a sense of uniqueness.

Sweet CeCe’s works like this: you are corralled into the back of the store where you are presented with 5 self-serve frozen yogurt machines. The cup is only available in one size and you fill it up with as much frozen yogurt as you want. As you move down the line, you are presented with various toppings that you can add to your cup. You can add as many toppings as you want, but keep in mind that like nearly all self-serve yogurt shops, your frozen yogurt creation at Sweet CeCe’s is priced on weight.

According to my receipt, Sweet CeCe’s currently charges $7.20 per pound. With my order being 0.55 lb in weight (filling it up a little over 1/2 full), it cost $4.33. So for those of you wanting to try Sweet CeCe’s, I advise parents (or those that don’t have any self discipline) to be self-conscious as you fill your cup with frozen yogurt and toppings. If you’re not careful, you can easily have a price tag of almost $10 in a single cup.

Since Haley and I weren’t particularly hungry, we decided to share a cup and created a side-by-side serving of Very Vanilla and Very Strawberry. The flavors of frozen yogurt available during our visit to Sweet CeCe’s were the following: Original Tart, Very Berry Sorbet, No Sugar Added Coffee, Pralines & Cream, Very Vanilla, Pecan Praline, Chocolate Covered Cherry, Very Strawberry, Pumpkin, and Cable Car Chocolate.

Sweet CeCe’s has nearly as many toppings (if not more) than their competitors. Toppings include various fresh fruits, nuts, candies, cookies, cereals, etc that are arranged and presented in a clean, organized manner. While Sweet CeCe’s may not have as many fruit toppings as Pinkberry, they do have more indulgent toppings. Here you have various sweet cereals, hot caramel and fudge, boatloads of candy ranging from Reese’s Pieces to Peanut M&Ms to Sour Gummy Worms to Skittles and a whole lot more. Perhaps there is a reason the full name of the shop is Sweet CeCe’s Frozen Yogurt and Treats. For those with a sweet tooth, you’ll definitely satiate your craving here.

So now we come to the actual review of the frozen yogurt. While I am told that the Original Tart flavor is similar to Pinkberry’s Original flavor, I didn’t come all the way to Sweet CeCe’s for a comparison of tartness. I came to experience their frozen yogurt at the core. As I mentioned before, Haley and I got a mix of Very Vanilla and Very Strawberry. To top it off, we added Brownies, Cookie Dough, Strawberries, Peanut M&Ms, Granola, and White Yogurt Chips.

The Very Vanilla was flavored true to its name. It wasn’t overpowering nor was it subtle. It was flavored just right. The Very Strawberry on the other hand was underwhelming. I could taste the strawberry flavoring but it seemed artificial. Luckily, the fresh strawberries we added to our cup added the strawberry flavor I was looking for. As for other characteristics, both frozen yogurts were very light, smooth, and creamy. It was very similar to ice cream, yet had all the nutritional benefits of yogurt. In addition, the toppings were delicious and didn’t have any hint of being stale or old. Definitely high quality overall.

So we come down to the debate. Which is better? Sweet CeCe’s or Pinkberry? The answer is that it’s a tie. No, this is not a cop out on a decision. Although we’re comparing apples to apples here, when you get down to specifics, there are hundreds of types of apples. When you compare a Red Delicious apple (Sweet CeCe’s) to a Braeburn apple (Pinkberry), both are completely different. Red Delicious apples (Sweet CeCe’s) have the characteristic of being sweet whereas Braeburn apples (Pinkberry) are also sweet but have the dominant characteristic of subacid tartness.

I do know this though. Both Sweet CeCe’s and Pinkberry frozen yogurt offerings are extremely high in quality with some of the best toppings available. When it comes down to frozen yogurt shops, they both rank among the best. It just comes down to personal preferences of whether you like sweet frozen yogurt or tart frozen yogurt. For those that like sweet frozen yogurt, Sweet CeCe’s is one of the best out there.